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World of M #169 – Guest: Hayashibara Megumi

Hi everyone. Not a random post this time but something more “regular” in terms of this blog. Haha. What I wanted to have resolved by now before returning isn’t going as planned so… I can’t promise scheduled posts but at the very least, after seeing this earlier today on NicoVideo, I thought to myself “There’s no way I’m missing out on this one.”

As Halloween is approaching, it’s no surprise that Nana starts off the radio program by speaking about how much orange she has been seeing recently. Without wasting too much time though, she introduces the week’s guest.

Megumi: I don’t understand the meaning behind Halloween. This is Hayashibara Megumi.

^I got a sudden nostalgic feeling when her voice came through my headphones as she said that. Even though it hasn’t been THAT long since I last heard her on… uh… Pokemon (most likely)? ^^;;

After the introduction, Nana admits that she doesn’t understand the meaning either.

Digging deeper in the details, Nana played a guest character (“Nyamo”) in Love Hina. At the recording site, Nana’s fangirling mode was immediately activated and thought to herself “That’s THE Hayashibara Megumi-san! *doki doki*” Up until that point, she had only seen her dai-senpai in magazines. But as expected — Nana only said said her greetings and nothing more. For that reason, Nana didn’t leave a impression on Megumi (to which Megumi apologizes — which is indirectly admitting that, yeah, she didn’t remember her at that time at all).

And then the next part is what I’ve been waiting for. Let me take this chance to say I was a big Shaman King fan back in the day (…I feel old saying that…) and is the entire reason I was unable to resist listening and writing about this latest World of M to begin with. XD Not only that, but I was (still am) a fan of Hayashibara Megumi. 🙂

The reason I said I’ve been waiting for this next part is because Megumi reveals that her memory of Nana started with Shaman King. (Note: The background music switched to “Northern Lights” as soon as this conversation started! =D)

This is where I must reference the old post where Konishi was guest on World of M if you wish to gain a bit more insight on why the Shaman King anime is quite special to Nana (and to those who came to know her through this series).
If you want more background info, during the time Takayama Minami was on World of M, talk of the Shaman King recording also came up.

Megumi speaks of her “first” impression. Nana, despite being a regular*, trembled a lot at the studio — even though her character (Tamamura Tamao) trembled a lot too. Not hard to understand, as she was close to being a nervous wreck being surrounded by well-known seiyuu. Everyone in the cast were veterans and had a certain level of popularity by then.*”regular” here meant recurring character.

For better or worse, the nervousness played well into Tamao’s character. In fact, when she asked for advice, Megumi told her “The way you currently are is fine. It fits Tamao perfectly. The fact that you hold the script means that no one else but you can play that part. Simply go at it.” After that, Nana’s nervousness converted into the positive type of nervousness — allowing her to stand in front of the mic with a bit more confidence.

Yes, I was grinning to myself the entire time as this little bit of history between the two were revealed. It’s quite heartwarming. 🙂

The conversation comes to a halt abruptly as we hear the music jingle that signals the end of one section and beginning of another.

Right after the jingle…

Nana: Somehow, the more we talk, the more energized I feel.
Megumi: Eh, really?
Nana: I feel like we’re becoming younger.
Megumi: It’s because I drink blood.
Nana: Blood?!
Megumi: Of course not.
Nana: You drink blood?! *laughs*
Megumi: No way.
Nana: Really? Ah, by the way, what do you normally do to relax?
Megumi: Sleep and, because I make my own meals, eating whatever I want makes me happy.
Nana: So you like to eat!
Megumi: I do.
Nana: Even though you’re so skinny! When I first saw your photos (in magazines, presumably), you looked like you were tall and large — but when I actually saw you, it was completely different.
Megumi: My body is round but my belly is thin.
Nana: *laughs* You’re slender yet eat a lot.
Megumi: I use up a lot of energy. I scream/yell very much at work.

^Lol. To that last part, yes, she does. XDD

And now, time for some promotion to be done. The song you hear is titled “Tsubasa” — the ending theme for Mardock Scramble the Movie. And yes, it’s sung by Hayashibara Megumi.

After the song, Megumi says that the request for her to sing this song came 8 years ago. However, due to her having just given birth and along with scheduled events she was to attend — she had declined the request. Soon after, she heard the series was cancelled (referring to the OVA series). A few years later, the request came again, but due to scheduling, she had to decline for a second time. Whether it was through luck or fate, 8 years since the first request, the song and movie/series found her once more.

Pretty interesting story. Considering Mardock Scramble touches upon the the ‘will to live’ (according to what Hayashibara-san said and what I read on Wiki), the song coming to her again and again creates some interesting links.

Onto the style of the song itself, Nana immediately points out how it is very different from Hayashibara Megumi’s usual singing style. Whether it’s the melody or instrumentals, it’s all very different. This is where Megumi links the song to the movie/story and how it carries the image of the character thinking of the ‘mouse.’ I apologize if I misinterpreted her on ths part as I know close to nothing about Mardock Scramble.

Next up is the M Selection corner. As per usual (when guests are present), the guest selects a song they feel deeply connected with and wants to share with others. What will Hayashibara Megumi select?

Something amusing happened after the song. As soon as Megumi mentioned “Maetel” (the character), Nana starts rambling about how Matsumoto Leiji (the writer/creator for Galaxy Express 999) met a woman in Ehime and that was where Matsumoto-sensei drew his inspiration for Maetel from. I guess it was expected of our Ehime/Iyo Tourism Ambassador to not let any chance to mention Ehime pass her by. XDD

Returning to Hayashibara’s reason for this selection, it’s because Galaxy Express 999 and Space Battleship Yamato both acted as the trigger to her becoming a seiyuu. Interesting to note that Space Battleship Yamato was co-written/created by the same author – Matsumoto Leiji. However, it was definitely Galaxy Express 999 that played the bigger role in getting her on this path. While attending a dinner show/event for Galaxy Express 999, Nozawa Masako (the seiyuu for Hoshino Tetsuro) asked if there was anyone in the audience who would like to act out Maetel’s role. Megumi found herself volunteering — and of course, she was not a seiyuu at the time but merely a member of the audience, so of course, she received praises for a job well done. A small praise goes a long way, and she became a seiyuu. XDD

Finally, it’s the “Bring out your voice and read the following in Japanese” corner, aka the voice acting corner. One of those sections where you must listen in order to understand the hilarity and epicness.
In short, this is how a love letter can go wrong if read out loud in a different voice/tone. XD

NicoVideo refused to load up the last little bit for me so I actually haven’t listened to Megumi’s version of the letter yet, but I’ll probably attempt to load it again tomorrow. For now… That’s all.